Trucks with cae-eodies



T'. P. How.' RAILRGADGAR..

P'atentedfMar. 1L 1851.

THOS. P. HOV, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

CONNECTING- TRUCKS WITH CAR-BODIES.

Specication of Letters Patent No. 7,969, dated March 11, 1851.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS I. How, of Buffalo, in the county of Erie andState of New York, have invented'a new and Improved Mode of Connectingthe Bodies of RailroadCars tothe Trucks; and I do hereby declare that`the following is a full and `exact description thereof, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference markedthereon.

The bodies of cars are at present generally attached to the trucks byacenter pin or king bolt which is located in the center of the trucks,in which case all the tendency` which they have to arrange themselves inconformity to the line of motion is produced by the resistance of therails to the flanges of the wheels, and if by any means the` flanges areraised above the rails, or the cars are thrown from the track,the trucksare left free to arrange themselves in any direction that Obstructionsor other circum stances may induce. The cars are also liable `to alateral motion while running, conse quent upon-the frequent changes 1ndirection` made by the trucks.` They also have a tend ency to presslaterally against the outside rail in curves, thereby wearing theflanges of the wheels and loosening the rails, as well as rendering thecars liable to run off the track. My invention consists in obviating theabove named dificulties and giving the trucks a tendency to arrangethemselves in the direction of the propelling power by the meanshereinafter described.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a car con-` l of the form represented inthe drawings are `cast in the plates D, D.

E, E, and N, N, are bolts or pins which are fixed in the body of thecar, and which draw the trucks. n

F, F, a-re cast iron cups which are made flat onthe bottom with a flangearound the I, I, are india rubber springs which may be used or omitted.

`0, o, are balls which support the weight of the car being placed in thecups YF, F, with the cups H, `H, restingv on `the-m. These ballsshouldbemade of iron or steel, and as nearly spherical aspossible so as to rollwith ease and regularit n The operation is as follows: When the car isdrawn forward by pulling upon the buffer L, thebolts or pinsE, E, aredrawn forward into notches in the plates D, D, leaving the bolts `N,\N,in a proper position to play freely in the holes at the rear end of thetrucks. If mot-ion is communicated to the car by pulling upon the bufferM, the body of the car is drawn in an opposite direction on the trucks,and the boltsor pins N, N,` are drawn into notches whichkeep them frommoving laterally, while the bolts E, E, are drawn out of the `notchesand are left free.`

It will be obvious from the above description that in whicheverdirectionthe car may be drawn, the point of draft is always forward ofthe center of the trucks and 'consequently that they have' a tendency,independent of the guidance of the rails, tO follow the drawing power,and hence that they will be less liable to be thrown from the track byobstructions, or if thrown off the track will be less liable to runsofarfrom it as to 'produceany serious result; `also in turning uponcurves the `drawing power pulling inwardly will have a tendency to keepthe anges of the wheels frompressing against the outer rail Of thetrack.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is pConnecting the bodies of cars to the trucks by two bolts to each truckworking in the holes or mortises above described and represented, thewhole being constructed and operating substantially as hereinset forth.

THOMAS P. How.

Witnesses:

CHAs. C. CORNELL, CAROLINE L. CORNELL.

